The third, and final day in Budapest dawned all wet and gloomy as the first rainy day of my Europe trip hit me head on. I needed to get my train ticket to Vienna, so I was in LipÃ³tvÃ¡ros area having a nice cuppa while waiting for the MAV Passenger Centre to open. It was quite nice actually, to watch the (Hungarian) world go by while I nurse for ravishing stomach (it is the weather).

I thought heaven is where you go topless in the biting chill of winter, soak into a thermal pool of warm spring water, surrounded by historical monuments and laughing people. I know I should have taken photo while I was in the pool, but it was just too damn cold! Luckily I did that a video showing the place in motion; it’s really like heaven.

After the thermal bath session and a heavy lunch, I was all ready to explore the City Park. First stop was the Hungarian Agricultural Museum. This rather esoteric museum is housed in the stunning baroque wing of Vajdahunyad Castle. This was purportedly the largest agricultural museum in whole of Europe, but was closed during the time of my visit… not that I will really visit anyway, heh.

Right opposite the Vajdahunyad Castle was the absolutely beautiful yet tiny JÃ¥k Chapel. Its intricate portal was copied from the 13th century Abbey Church in Western Transdanubia. Just look at the entryway, and the carving, the statues, the hidden message… I was definitely having another Dan Brown moment!

Of course, there was the Vajdahunyad Castle itself. Also known as the Vajdahunyad-vÃ¡r in Hungarian, it is actually a copy in part of a castle in Transylvania, Romania, that is also called Vajdahunyad, though it is also a display of different architectural styles: Romanic, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque. Originally it was made from cardboard and wood for the millennial exhibition in 1896 but it became so popular that it was rebuilt from stone and brick.

The statue of the hooded figure across the castle is that of Anonymous, the unknown chronicler at the court of King Bella III who wrote a history of the early Magyars. It was said that writers, both real and aspirants, touches the shiny pen tip for inspiration.

A walk around the castle revealed a familiar face. The statue of George Washington was erected here in City Park in 1906 by Hungarian-American. Look at the symbolic eagle taking flight. The combination of the man and his foul (bird?) made a strangely compelling photography target.

The Timewheel in Procession Square on the park’s western edge is the world’s largest hourglass, standing 8m high and weighing in at 60 tonnes. The “sands” flows from the upper to lower chamber for one year, finishing exactly at midnight on New Year’s Eve.

The Millenary Monument stood in the centre of Hosok tere, with a 36m-high pillar backed by colonnades to the right and left. Topping the pillar is Angel Gabriel, holding the Hungarian crown and cross. At the base are Arpad and the six other Magyar chieftains.

The 14 statues in the colonnades are of rulers and statesmen: from King Stephen on the lefy to Lahos Kossuth on the right. The four allegorical figures atop: Work & Prosperity, War, Peace, Knowledge & Glory.

My last stop for the day was the Great Synagogue. Built in 1859, according to the designs of Frigyes Feszi, the synagogue contains both Romantic-style and Moorish architecture elements. It was renovated largely with private donations.

The synagogue is the largest Jewish house of worship in the world outside New York City and can seat 3000. That is indeed true, coz I actually counted the number of seats. It was hard not to be humbled by the sheer grandeur of the place packed into such small a place.

In the annexe of the synagogue is the Jewish Museum, which contains objects related to the religious and everyday life of the Jewish community. I spent almost an hour here, immersed in the life cycle of the Jews, from birth to death, outlined in painstaking details with handwritten notes, artifacts and photos.

On the synagogue’s north side, the Holocaust Memorial stands over the mass graves of those murdered by the Nazis in 1944-45. On the leaves of the metal “tree of life” are the family names of some of the hundreds of thousands of victims.

Right after this, I rushed back to the hostel to collect my (fortunately) packed backpack, and made my way to the train station. The journey from Budapest to Vienna took only five hours, a breathe of relief from my horrifying experience of Prague – Budapest. To top of the experience, I had the entire cabin to myself the whole journey! Watching the landscape of Hungary flew by while listening to Norah Jones was an experience to beyond.

Too soon I arrived at Wien Westbahnhof, the Vienna West Station. My chapter in Vienna was about to begin!

Click here for the full set of photos taken during my third, and final day in Budapest.

Little did I know that the counters were closed on a Sunday! The kind man who was cleaning the office windows told me to come back the next day. I peered through the windows and saw MAV staff at work. Why can’t they work on a Sunday? I mean, they are selling train tickets, for goodness sake, and trains don’t stop running on Sundays. Luckily the view from the metro station to the centre was more than enough to make up the disappointment.

My next stop was the Basilica of St. Stephen, and I wanted to hunt for some food first before visiting arguably the top tourist spot in Budapest. But as I walked nearer to the church, which is located at LipÃ³tvÃ¡ros, I heard the grand church bells toiling away, calling the church goers to go to mass. The sound was amazing; I had to quicken my pace just to catch up, and my jaw dropped when I reached the front of the church.

After a quick detour for food (my stomach was grumbling too much to be ignored la), I quickly went inside. Basilica of St. Stephen is Budapest’s neoclassical cathedral built, demolished and rebuilt over the course of half a century before its eventual completion in 1905.

Like any grand cathedrals in Europe, the interior of St. Stephen was mind-numbingly beautiful. The main draw for the crowd is the Holy Right Chapel, which contain the mummified right hand of St. Stephen and an object of great devotion. Unfortunately during my visit, the chapel was closed… and fortunately a mass was in session, and I was in for a treat.

After spending some moments in the church, I started to make my way to the parliament which is within walking distance from St. Stephen.

The Parliament of Hungary has 690 sumptuously decorated rooms; however these are only available as part of a guided tour, which is free for EU residents but with-a-fee for other visitors like me. The building stretches along The Danube, and with the weak sun towards the east of the city, it was the perfect moment for some very awesome photography.

Right behind the Parliament, away from The Danube, a Christmas fair was in full swing, complete with food stalls and performances. I spent some happy minutes here enjoying the famous German sausage (it was really huge and juicy… yes yes I know that sounded dirty) and the warm wine.

Fuzzed up from my festive mood at the Christmas fair, the sobering experience that was Holocaust Memorial Centre was indeed a clash to my holiday flow. While in most circumstances, such a memorial centre would have been awe inspiring, this Hungarian version was certainly lacking… unless you speak the language, or some of the other European language. Those who speaks only English like me will find the memorial experience to be disjointed and confusing. Despite the glowing review from fellow travelers, I wouldn’t really recommend this.

My last must-do stop for the day was the Hungarian State Opera House, which is located along the metro line at a station aptly named “Opera”. There wasn’t a show on at that time, but a banner covered a part of the building… come to think of it, most of the art-related buildings I visited during my trip were mostly covered in some sort of banners, which is kinda disappointing as the more interesting bits of architecture were not visible.

It was close to 5 p.m. by then, and during that time of winter, the sky was already getting dark. Hurriedly I made my way to the VÃ¶rÃ¶smarty metro station, only to be greeted by yet another Christmas fair. This one is definitey more crowded than the last two I have come across. Themed as “Budapest Christmas at VÃ¶rÃ¶smarty Square”, a large part of the crowded were centered around a performance stage. I joined the Hungarians in a spot of real folk culture and traditional Christmas music – videos here and here.

The performances were far from perfect, but it was heartfelt as evidently family members of the performers were in the crowd too! They were singing along and generally having a merry time, and I was glad to be part of the festivities. Of course, being the glutton I was am, I took in some traditional Hungarian food and warm mulled wine. There was just something about winter which made me hungrier than usual!

After a quick fresh-me-up at the hostel, I went to a true Hungarian eatery last night and had the most mortifying experience ever. Despite what I read about it in my guidebook, I took the trouble to go all the way visit Giero at AndrÃ¡ssy Ãºtca. I won’t say anything about the food, except that it came out of a kitchen, served on a plate and very filling.

However, people come to this cavern because of its authentic Gypsy music – video here – and I certainly had an earful of it, as I am the only customer around. I know would feel bad if I don’t leave behind a hefty tip, seeing that the entire staff literally danced around me, so I did.

That marks the end of an eventful second day that I had in Budapest. I settled into a deep sleep with a contented heart :)

The first day of my holiday dawned bright and early. The entire hostel was sound asleep as I showered in the cold morning, getting ready for the day ahead. In Budapest, I stay at 11th Hour Cinema Hostel, a nice, centrally located hostel has its own three storey building with a lovely courtyard (perfect for a smoke break and that pint of beer) and dimly lit common room. The focal feature, of course, was the projection room where you can watch a movie with your fellow hostelmates when the weather is to severe to go out.

The plan for the day was to visit the Castle Hill, a must-visit tourist spot for anyone who visit Budapest. To get to the hill (the clue is in the name, see?), I had to take the metro to the Moszkva ter Station where, to my surprise, I encountered my first Christmas market! It was the first of the many, many markets and fairs I will encounter during my trip in Europe. For some reason, I don’t recall seeing any during my trip last year to Turkey and Greece. Perhaps it was too close to Christmas then.

I didn’t linger long at the Christmas market, as my intention was to make my way to Castle Hill! Which was more of a challenge than I thought it was. The map in Lonely Planet was confusing, and the direction from the station attendant (in halting English no less) confused me even more than I was. But in the end I figured out the direction, and when I saw I was on the right route, my bubbling excitement was hard to contain!

Castle Hill, also called the Castle District, is a 1km-long limestone plateau towering 170m above the Danube. It contains Budapest’s most important medieval monuments and museums, and is a Unesco World Heritage Site.

The walled area consists of two-distinct parts, the Old Town to the north, where commoners lived in the Middle Ages (the present-day owners of the coveted burgher houses here are anything but “common”); and the Royal Palace, the original site of the castle built in the 13th century.

My entry point of choice was Vienna Gate, the medieval entrance to the old town, rebuilt in 1936 for the 250th anniversary of the retaking of the castle from the Turks. It’s not so big but loquacious children here are told by their parents: “Your mouth is as big as the Vienna Gate!”

The large building to the west of the gate with the superb and very colourful maiolica-tiled roof contains the National Archives. It is not open to the public, but you can take in its magnificent facade right from the outside.

On the west side of Vienna Gate Square, which was a weekend market in the Middle Ages, there’s an attractive group of burgher houses. The photo above is of No. 8, with a curious round corner window.

To the east across the square is a Lutheran church, with the words “A Mighty Forest is Our God” written in Hungarian. Here’s a video I took of the area around Vienna Gate Square.

Tancsics utca is a narrow street full of little houses painted in lively hies and adorned with statues. In many courtyard entrances you will see sedilia – stone niches dating back to the 13th century – which some historians think were used as merchant stalls; others believe servants cooled their heels here while their masters (or mistresses) visited the occupants.

It was also here I started my disastrous attempts at taking my own photos without a tripod (I got one later on), and the resulting photos were as bad as you can imagine. Thank god for camera shops and friendly Hungarians who saved my first day in Budapest!

Farther along the road to the southeast of Tancsics utca is the house where the leader of the 1848-49 War of Independence, Lajos Kossuth, was imprisoned from 1837 to 1840.

As I walked along Tancsics utca utca, I stumbled upon the Museum of Music HIstory, with an exhibition of Haydn. I had a great time here, exploring the large exhibit as probably the only visitor during that time. There was an old lady who was guarding the exhibitions, but she had no objection of me snapping away in the museum. In fact, she even took some photos of me!

Right after the garden, I ventured into another nook of the street, and bumped into this gorgeous looking Garden Market, where I snapped a couple of shots of this berry tree. It sure felt like Christmas already!

Farther up the road, the contraversial Hilton Budapest, which incorporates parts of a Dominican church dating from the Middle Ages, and a baroque Jesuit college.

Southwest, there’s a statue of the Holy Trinity. another one of the “plague pillars” put up by grateful (and wealthy) Buda citizens in the early 18th. The most amazing sight, however, would be the two main attractions of Castle Hill, dominating the square: Matthias Church and Fisherman’s Bastion.

Matthias Church is a neo-Gothic creation with a colourful tiled roof and a delicate spire (although a massive protracted US$20 million restoration kept the landmark tower under wraps). The interior, famed for its stained glass windows and wall decoration by Romanian painters, was out of bound for me as I walked away quickly to the burgeoning crowd at the one and only entrance to the church! A big part of it was under some kind of restoration work, as of most attractions in Europe during the winter months.

The Fisherman’s Bastion is a neo-Gothic masquerade that most visitors and Hungarians believed to be much older. But who cares? It looks medieval and offers among the best views in Budapest. One photo would not do it justice, so I took somevideos to show how grand the entire place was.

While I was there, I was fortunate enough to see a Chinese couple doing their wedding shoot there with an entourage of at least ten people. It must have cost them a fortune! The bride, despite wearing a dress totally insufficient for the chilly weather, was looking absolutely radiant. I guess if I was in her heels, I would be, too. Imagine, what a shoot that was!

Southwest of the square is the mounted statue of Andras Hadik, a Hussar field marshal in the wars against the Turks. See the steed’s shiny brass testicles? According to my Lonely Planet, it’s a student tradition in Budapest to give them a stroke before taking an exam.

Anyone worth his salt on Castle Hill will recommend you to try the excellent spread of coffee and cake at Ruszwurm Cafe. What they failed to mention was how tiny the place is. Only a couple of tables and the place was overcrowded beyond imagination. Certainly no table for a lone ranger like me.

So of I go to Cafe Mira, a charming corner cafe with a nice menu, where I spent a happy hour eating, blogging and immersing myself in the decidedly artsy crowd. I spotted an Asian dude, probably university age, in some decidedly funky hairdo and speaks (what I presumed to be) fluent Hungarian. It was amazing. I wish I have language ability like that!

Walking along Uri utca, you’ll come face-to-face with the bombed-out former Ministry of Defence, a casualty of WWII and NATO’s supposed nuclear target for Budapest during the Cold War.

It was around the bullet-hole-ridden building that I stumbled upon the Downtown Summer Folkfair. A sure tourist trap, but hey I was a tourist too, ain’t I? So off I go exploring its stalls and being voluntarily relieved of a few Euros in exchange for some Hungarian artifacts.

Farther south on the left hand side is the restored Sandor Palace, which now houses the offices of the president and is heavily guarded at all times. On the front facade, there were some wonderful classical reliefs and friezes.

By the time I am done exploring the vast compound around the palace, it was past four and the drop in temperature were definitely noticeable. I was hesitating if he should spend HUF500 (about EUR2) on a plastic cup of warm wine… but in the end I caved in. It was an experience to behold. Imagine walking around a complex of castles and museums hundreds of years old in the biting chill of Hungarian winter, immersing yourself in the laughter of delighted visitors conversing in many languages. It’s only when you travel alone that you notice these things vividly.

After a short rest back in the hostel, I walked my way to Raday utca. This street is a famous place for bars, restaurants and cafes in Budapest. Mainly the road is not accessible for cars, just for pedestrians.

A bit bummed out that the whole street seem deserted… until I see almost all of the eateries were packed with people. Randomly chosen one, Voros Postakocsi at Ráday utca, which seemed to have the most locals and thoroughly enjoyed the food.

And of course I tried the Hungarian beer, Dreher. A pint on an empty stomach is almost guarantee to a great dinner.

With that, I ended my first night in Budapest well fed with food, sight and contentment :)

Click here for more photos taken during my first Hungarian day in Budapest, particularly at the Vienna Gate, Matthias Church and Fisherman’s Bastion.

And so the journey of a lifetime begins. Ok, so not really the journey, but close enough nonetheless. It was my second trip to a wintry Europe, in the chilling month of December. Because of my work, I had to squeeze visits to three cities within ten days.

But hey, I am a hardy traveler, nothing can faze me!

The journey begins at Hong Kong, where I took the flight to Prague on Air France. As I was checking in, I told the attendant that my knapsack sometimes comes off, because of the silly, unsecured zippers. You know what? She offered to wrap my entire backpack in a plastic bag, so the whole thing remain intact during my long flight.

How nice of her! An extra brownie point to Air France! Or maybe it was the staff if KLIA. Haha.

The journey to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, where I had a 3-hour transit, took approximate 12 hours. It was an excruciating 12 hours. I am not sure why, but usually I love long flights. Maybe the fact that Air France was nothing compared to Singapore Airlines which made me feel shortchanged. Kinda, anyway.

The transit at Amsterdam was over quicker than I thought. I spent a good portion of my time having my usual Starbucks (grande-sized Americano, extra shot, with a little milk) and writing postcards to some special people, before heading to the gate where I was to board the KLM CityHopper enroute to Prague!

The journey from Amsterdam to Prague took a little over an hour (hence the CityHopper, see?), and after a hassle free checkout from Prague International Airport, I was on Czech soil! For real! For a moment I couldn’t believe that I am really in Europe… until the biting chill hit me squarely in the face. How welcoming, how nice. Oh, didn’t I tell you I love winter?

Anyway, from Prague airport I needed to purchase a bus ticket (me! taking a bus! ha!) to make my way on bus 119 to DejvickÃ¡ Metro Station, the very first station on Prague Metro Line 2, which can then take me to city centre. The journey was terrifying… for someone who can’t speak Czech, and the English announcement in the bus was as good as being in a total foreign language. But in the end I made it to the metro station with minimal fuss.

From DejvickÃ¡ Metro Station, I made my way to the second largest train station in Prague, the Praha – HoleÅ¡ovice. When I was doing my research prior to the trip, I was worried sick that I won’t understand the language and won’t be able to find my way to the station, despite having my faithful Lonely Planet with me. What do I know, right? The journey to the train station was as hassle-free as taking the MTR in Singapore.

I should really be more confident in my own ability navigating in strange land.

Since I have about five hours before my train ride to Budapest, I decided to take a short tour around the neighbourhood of HoleÅ¡ovice. HoleÅ¡ovice nestles inside the big bend of the Vltava, and runs west. It’s bisected by a major rail line and highway into distinct eastern and western halves. For decades, HoleÅ¡ovice was badly neglected. It was long considered he “German” area of he city and became rundown… but all that changed in 2002, when the Vltava flood inundated the low-level areas around the river, which prompted massive injection of development funds into the neighbourhood.

HoleÅ¡ovice is home to the vast exhibition grounds known as the VÃ½staviÅ¡tÄ›. Many of the buildings were built to house the 1891 Jubilee exhibition and are still impressive in the faded-glory kind of way. These include the Prague Pavilion and the grand, Art Nouveau Palace Industry.

Sadly though, the VÃ½staviÅ¡tÄ› grounds have been allowed to fall into disrepair and look a little shabby these days. Some saving grace can be found in form of lovely trees and hidden garden pathways, but I didn’t linger in the area for very long.

Soon it was time for me to find some food (which I did at this lovely Bohemia Bagel), but on the way there I met my first crook! Actually, he didn’t look like a crook at all. All he did was to speak to me in Czech, and since obviously I don’t speak the language, he asked me if I speak English, to which I affirmed. Then he asked me for an Euro or two for food. Thing is, this young man looked perfectly normal to me. His clothes wasn’t tattered, his face wasn’t smudged, his eyes not all baggy and dark. But truth is I was too startled by my first encounter that I just shook my head and quickly walk away.

Actually, I should bought the guy lunch. It wouldn’t be too bad, would it? Anyway.

On to my first meal in Europe! I ordered this humongous portion of burger, together with a glass of mulled wine. It was also here I started my updating frenzy on my Facebook, where I post some nice photos with description on what I have done for the day. It was also here I got confused with the damn currency and left behind almost 50% in tips. The waitress must be damn happy!

It was getting dark, time for me to board my train going towards Budapest. A horrific journey, that was. Not only when the train started to move that an announcement was made about the train not having a dining car “due to safety reason”, when I only have a half-drunk bottle of water on me for a freaking 8-hour journey. The heavily accented announcements made at the several hundreds of stops did not ally my fear that I might just missed out Budapest.

It was a ride I endured in pure misery, not being able to sleep well, and it was only then I realised I have traveled for 30 hours without a shower. Yuck!

But what do you know? Soon I have arrived at Keleti PÃ¡lyaudvar train station. Hungry, tired, sleepy… and very lost. The whole place was very dimly lit and suspicious character was loitering around. I can’t find an ATM to draw Hungarian Forints and the metro station attendant can’t speak a word of English. Being panicked was an understatement of the night, but like all seasoned traveler will tell you, everything will work out in the end. And I like to call myself one, so yes, by midnight, I was safely tucked in bed :)

Click here to view all my photos from that 30-hour journey from Hong Kong, via Amsterdam, to Prague and finally ended up in Budapest!